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9.24.2012

Marketing Mondays: "Good Art-world Citizens"

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Visiting the Minus Space
gallery in DUMBO last week, I chatted with Matthew Deleget and Rossana
Martinez, the artists who founded an online platform for reductive art which became the
bricks-and-mortar gallery we were standing in. Deleget mentioned that all of
the artists the gallery represents “give back” in some way, whether it be teaching, mentoring,
curating, or writing.

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Deleget and Martinez were too modest to mention it, but "giving back" at Minus Space starts with them. As I was on the F
train heading back into Manhattan, Iremembered a recent Village Voice article Christian Vivieros-Faune wrote
on Chuck Close, in which he quoted the eminent artist on the importance of being a “good art-world
citizen.” .
“Close's constant civic-mindedness has resulted in his appointment to the President's Committee on the Arts
and the Humanities, as well as his recruitment to mentor struggling schools for
Turnaround Arts—a recent administration-led arts-education initiative that
closely echoes the artist's own oft-quoted precepts,” writes Faure.

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While most artists
will not be involved with projects that are quite as high profile as lobbying
the President while photographing him, there are many who have been and continue to be good
art-world citizens, which is the subject of today’s Marketing Mondays post.

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When I think of “good art-world citizens,” I think of sculptor Nancy Azara and painter Darla Bjork who were
instrumental in founding and teaching at the New York Feminist Art Institute in SoHo in
the Seventies, and who continue to host intergenerational salons for women
artists; of dealer Edward Winkleman who offersadvice to artists on his blog; of
critic Jerry Saltz who hosts an online salon for his 5000 Facebook friends, most of them artists. I think of the artist and writer Chris Ashley, who maintains Some Walls, a curatorial and writing art project open by appointment in his home in Oakland, California; Ashley mounts four to six solo exhibitions a year and writes an essay for each exhibition. .I think of the late Ivan Karp, who always took the time to look at artists' work and offer an honest assessment of what he saw. (His memorial will take place in a few weeks; see sidebar right.)..

I think of Richard
Frumess, painter and paintmaker, who started a small paint company in the
basement of his Brooklyn building, moved it upstate to Kingston, grew it with partners, and for 20+
years has been dispensing technical and best-practices information to artists, along with
creating a workplace that hires artists and gives those artists room to create
workshops and curate exhibitions in its gallery, both of which serve an international community of artists; yes, R&F Handmade Paints is a for-profit
company, but it gives back much to the community which supports it. This kind of generosity is true, too, for the Golden Paint Company, which gives back in similar good spirit.

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I think of Paul Klein, Chicago art force and eminence gris, who sends
out an arm-around-your-shoulder newsletter each month reporting on the Chicago
gallery scene; of Philadelphia artists Roberta Fallon and Libby Rosof who have chronicled,
supported, and cheered on the Philly art scene in their terrific Artblog; of Sharon Butler who takes time out of a demanding studio practice
and teaching career to report on painting in New York City and elsewhere with her Two Coats of Paint blog; of
artist Austin Thomas, whose community gallery, Pocket Utopia, was the first kid
on the Bushwick block and is now on the Lower East Side.

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I think of painter Julie Karabenick who, driven by a passion to chronicle abstract geometric art, has created an ongoing curatorial
project, Geoform, which is both an international resource and a living
testament to the power of geometric abstraction. I think of Jackie Battenfield
who founded a gallery in Brooklyn, ran the Artists in the Marketplace in the
Bronx, and nowtravels around the country offering advice and inspiration to artists
at all ages and at all professional levels.

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I think of all the
artists who donate artwork, occasionally or regularly, to the endless good
causes for which they are asked (though I rail against donating). I think of the artist curators, usually unpaid, who create exhibition opportunities for their peers. I think of tenured artists who
teach in schools and universities, and especially of the hardworking but poorly paid adjuncts and art center teachers who encourage and inspire. ."Giving back” doesn’t necessarily mean giving it away for free (though good art-world citizens are rarely rolling in dough); it simply means
returning some of your hard-won experience, mentoring, generosity or energy to a community where there’s never enough to
go around.

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Feel free to toot
your own horn, acknowledge another’s effort, or comment in whatever way you choose.

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If you have enjoyed this or any other post, please consider a
voluntary annual donation of $20 to support this blog. Scroll down the sidebar
from the top to find the Paypal link. Thank you. And big, big thanks to all the
readers who have done so already!

Thank you for this post! I've had the pleasure of taking a 2 1/2 day workshop with Jackie Battenfield thru Creative Capital which was terrific and also read her book "The Artist's Guide" (also great). I am grateful to her for sharing her insights and knowledge. Another good art world citizen is Alyson B. Stanfield whose blog www.artbizblog.com dispenses wonderful practical everday info to help run your art business. I really enjoy Two Coats of Paint, so impressed with the range of work covered. All of these women have been inspirational. And of course I always look forward to your blog posts Joanne. I really appreciate your point of view on things and enjoy seeing all of the work you showcase.

I appreciate the time taken by "The Jealous Curator" (http://www.thejealouscurator.com and Christopher Jobson of Colossal to profile the work of artists they admire. They have a big reach, and use it to support the works of others (AND CITE THEIR SOURCES).

FROM ROSSANA MARTINEZ: Wow, thank you so much Joanne! It was great to have you at the gallery. There are many more to add to the list, but I quickly think of Phong Bui from the Brooklyn Rail, Loren Munk from the James Kalm Report, and Rene Lynch and Julian Jackson from Metaphor and artObama. Muchas gracias! We hope to welcome you soon again.

FROM MATTHEW DELEGET:Thanks, Joanne, for another great post and shout-out! I don't believe being an artist, even a successful one, and being supportive of your community of artists are mutually exclusive. I second Rossana's list and would add Michelle Grabner, Don Voisine, and many more (more space needed). Who would your readers nominate?

I've said this on Joanne's Facebook page and will say it here: it's been my experience that the most talented and successful artists are also the most generous: with time, technical advice, marketing strategy, referrals-you name it. I feel sorry for people who think that artists are competitive and backbiting because they're clearly in the wrong crowd. Thank you, Joanne, for your advice and for introducing me via your blog and Facebook network to some pretty great people.

Yes, Lisa, I would most certainly add Joanne to that list--way high up on it! Joanne's blog is a gift to the art world. It is so creative, thorough, informative and well-written. It's a pleasure to read. julie

Thanks for the shout Joanne. I'll add a few Connecticut folks: Chris Joy and Zachary Keating of the VLOG Gorky's Granddaughter, Debbie Hesse curator and cummunity builder for the New Haven Arts Council, and Jonathan Waters the founder of A-Street Gallery/West Cove Studios.In NYC,props to Sharon Louden for her tireless work on the College Art Association's Services to Artists Committee,which organizes panels and discussions that are free and open to the public during CAA's Annual Conference. And to all the others previously mentioned: You're all making things better. THANK YOU.

I would add David Cohen for both Art Critical and The Review Panel. The Review Panel gives us an opportunity to see critics making it up as they go, moderated with insight and wit by David.

Also, as a former steering committee member of the Annual Gowanus Artists Studio Tour, I'd like to add organizers of events such as the recent GO Brooklyn. It's a vast amount of work done mostly out of altruism.

Links

Artists Choose Artists

Artist Annell Livingston writes about my work for the new blog, Vasari 21, founded by Ann Landi. Click pic for info and a link

Recent Solo: "Silk Road"

"Joanne Mattera: The Silk Road Series" was at Kenise Barnes Fine Art in Larchmont, New York, May-July. Some paintings are available for viewing at the gallery. Click pic for gallery info

Recent: August Geometry

More than just a summer show. Au-gust: adjective, respected and impressive. At the Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta. Click pic for info

Recent

I'm having a great year of exhibitions and catalogs. This volume, published by Space Gallery, Denver, on the occasion of the exhibition, "Pattern: Geometric|Organic," is viewable online and available for sale as a hard-copy volume. Click pic for exhibition info and a link to the catalog. That's my "Chromatic Geometry 29" on the cover

James Panero Reviews Doppler Shift

Writing in The New Criterion, Panero calls Doppler Shift "a smart group show, " noting the work of "artists who interest me most these days." There's a nice shout out to Mary Birmingham, the curator; to Mel Prest, who originated the concept; and to me, among others. Click pic for the review

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"Textility," curated by Mary Birmingham and myself for the Visual Art Center of New Jersey, Summit (where Birmingham is the chief curator), looked at contemporary painting, sculpture and work on paper in which textile elements were referenced or employed. The exhibition is over, but you can see this exhibition on line. Click on the links below to read and see more.

Review of Textility

Click pic to access review. Then click on page images to enlarge them for legibility

Stephen Haller: Remembering Morandi

When he was a young man, the New York art dealer Stephen Haller had a brief but life-changing friendship with Giorgio Morandi, who was nearing the end of his days. Click pic below for story.

Haller holding a photograph of himself with Morandi in the early Sixties. Click pic for story

Followers

My book, The Art of Encaustic Painting, was published by Watson-Guptill in 2001. It's the first commercially published book on contemporary encaustic. There are three sections: history, with images of the famed Greco-Egyptian Fayum portraits; a gallery of contemporary painting and sculpture (including the work of Jasper Johns, Kay WalkingStick, Heather Hutchison, Johannes Girardoni and myself), and technical information, including an interview with Michael Duffy, a conservator at the Museum of Modern Art.